by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds," Heb. i. 1, 2.

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As the ark, after the tossings and tempest of the flood, rested safely on the top of Mount Ararat; so Christ, having suffered all things that were appointed, "entered into his glory," and established the faith of them that believe in him, upon a rock, again t which the gates of hell never shall prevail." The ark afforded protection to those only who fled for shelter under its roof, and whom God shut up within it. It was not merely the sight of that wonderful fabric, nor the knowledge and approbation of the plan, nor an active hand in the rearing of it, nor an external adherence to it, when the evil day came, that afforded safety to the miserable. Our Lord himself furnishes us with the application of these important circumstances, “ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name 'done many wonderful works? and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity," Matt. vii. 21...23. And impressed with an awful sense of it, Paul says of himself," I therefore so run, not as uncertainly: so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away," 1. Cor. ix. 26, 27.

Farther; when we see Noah at the altar of God, offering the sacrifices of thanksgiving, presenting a victim of every clean bird and beast, and God smelling a savour of rest; ceasing from his anger, remitting the curse, and establishing a new covenant upon better promises, we "behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world." Christ the altar that is erected, the priest who officiates, and the victim which

is offered up. We behold provision made for the remission of transgressions committed under the second covenant, for which there was no remedy under the first. The passage on which this discourse is built, is a full and particular illustration of this. The whole chapter refers to the bringing in of the Gentile nations to the standard of the Messiah. "For thy Maker is thine husband (the Lord of Hosts is his name) and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord has called' thee as a woman forsaken, and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee," Isaiah liv. 5...10. Expressions beautifully figurative of the strength, beauty, and duration of the christian church, and of the immoveable foundation on which the christian faith is built.

Finally, the rainbow, the token of God's covenant of peace with the earth, produced, in the course of nature, by the rays of the sun falling on a cloud impregnated with rain; without straining for a similitude, exhibits mercy rejoicing over judgment; the rays of the sun of righteousness reflected from, and dispersing the clouds of divine wrath and human guilt. It represents the dispensations of the Most High towards men, as distinguished from those spiritual beings who never sinned, and those who never shall be saved. In hell,

the gloom is not for a single instant dispelled by one beam of light, nor despair relieved by one ray of hope. The serenity of heaven is never obscured by one frown from the face of God. But our world is the theatre, on which are displayed, "mercy and truth meeting together, righteousness and peace kissing each other;' "truth springing out of the earth, and righteousness looking down from heaven." The bow in the cloud is the reverse of that described by the Psalmist: "He hath bent his bow and made it ready, he hath also prepared for him the instruments of death: he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors," Psalm vii. 12, 13. No, it is a bow unbent, armed with no deadly weapon, and its dangerous, threatening side averted from us, and turned towards heaven. The bow is never to be seen but when one side of the heaven is clear, and the sun above the horizon; unless it be by the sober, silver rays of the moon's mild reflected light. Thus every thing useful and pleasing in nature, every thing satisfying and consolatory in providence, in order to be perceived and enjoyed, must be irradiated, explained, and applied, by the eternal Wisdom, the Word of God, "the true Light which enlighteneth every man who cometh into the world" and thus many of the objects which we are incapable of contemplating, by the direct and immediate illumination of the glorious "Father of Lights," are tempered to our perception, use, and delight, by reflection from other orbs. "No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

Thus have we endeavored to point out those particulars in the person, character, and life of Noah, which seem more obviously typical of Christ the Lord; but I cannot conclude the parallel, without directing your thoughts to one article of resemblance more. The old world having undergone the purgation of a flood, was delivered in its renewed state to Noah and his natural posterity for a possession: and from the world that is,

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when purified by fire, « We, according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." "He that sitteth upon the throne saith, Behold I make all things new! for the former things are passed away." And he that is before the throne saith, "In my Father's house are many mansions! if it were not so I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

Let me now exhort you in the words of Christ, "Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they testify of Him, who is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end:" and as you read and meditate the light will break in upon you, and the Saviour of the world will stand confessed in every page, in every line; so that ye may say one to another, in the words of Andrew to Simon his brother, We have found the, Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ." And when you see all that is venerable in respect of antiquity, all that is sacred in office, all that is dignified in royalty, bringing their glory and honor to him, lay yourselves at his feet and say, "He is our Lord, and we will worship him;" for surely this is the Son of God."

And here closes the first great period of the world. There next ensues a very considerable space of time, fruitful indeed in names, but barren in events. Provi dence has thought fit to draw a veil over it for this obvious reason, that however amusing or instructive the detail of that period might be to us, as citizens of this world, having no special relation to the history of redemption, it cannot be very deeply interesting to us

christians. And the design of the bible is not so much to convey to us natural and political knowledge, as the knowledge of" the only true God, and of Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent, whom to know is life eternal. The sacred historian accordingly hastens on to the times of Abraham, when the promises and predictions of the Messiah become more clear and express, and that Saviour was explicitly announced," in whom all the families of the earth" should at length be blessed.

When we have marked the progress of the dawn, and observed the first rays of this rising sun, through the medium of type, figure, and prediction; when we have considered the tokens of approaching glory in the east ; let us look up together, and behold the splendor of the full-blown day; let us contemplate the glory spread around us, by "the sun shining in his strength." The scattered glimmerings of light....a terrestrial paradise, the first promise of deliverance by the seed of the woman, Abel's sacrifice, Enoch's translation, Noah's ark, and all that followed during so many ages, were at length collected and lost in that one great luminary, which is the light of the christian world. But alas! "this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light; because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light; neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved, John iii. 19, 20. Let us endeavor to approve ourselves," children of the light, and of the day:" and observe and follow Him, who thus speaks concerning himself, " I am the light of the world; he that followeth me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”